How is current coach Mike Tomlin different from former coach Bill Cowher?

Tomlin watches more what the players eat, to make sure healthier things are offered. Cowher was more “give them what they want.” I don't do as much fried food and cream soups now.

How did you wind up in Pittsburgh?

My wife is from here. My first job in the area was at a Giant Eagle grocery store. I told them I loved to cook so they put me in the culinary department making prepared foods. The chef there mentored me, telling me where to go to culinary school. I actually stayed with Giant Eagle while I went to the International Culinary School.

Tell me about your herb garden…

The chef here before me started it but I've made it bigger and kept it going. It's in a patch of ground about a foot wide and the length of the cafe, about 20 feet. I plant it myself, water and take care of it. I do the basics — basil, oregano, cilantro, parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary. I started planting chives last year. I planted garlic bulbs this year but they take three years to grow. Something different…

So you have a green thumb…

I was raised on a hundred-acre farm and we always planted when we were kids.

Is that where your love of cooking started?

My grandfather was a mess sergeant in the army and the uncle who raised me also loved to cook. That's where I get it, I think.

What were your favorite dishes as a kid?

Chicken noodle casserole and fried apple pies. My grandmother who made the pie is getting up in years now, so whenever I go home, my family is happy because I make them.

Do you ever make them for the Steelers?

No. Too fattening…

Favorite Meal:
fried chicken, collard greens and fried apple pie

Greatest Chef Influence:
Chef Boyd Richardson with Giant Eagle Stores

Hobbies:
deer hunting, camping

Favorite Movie:
Red Dawn

Most Memorable Restaurant Experience:
Post-wedding dinner in the Eiffel Tower restaurant atop the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas